However, in the face of both the economic winds and the actual winds that seem to keep blowing right in our faces, small business is maintaining its optimism, according to this month's SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard Optimism Survey. The November Scorecard results found 53% of respondents feeling optimistic about the U.S. small business economy, the same figure as last month's report.

Of course, that means nearly half of respondents are pessimistic, so clearly many entrepreneurs still need good reason to move the optimism number higher. The good news in Chicago is that we have a new unanimously passed budget that's filled with necessary cuts in spending. Tough choices were made and while they may not be pleasant for Chicagoans right now, it's a sharp contrast to what's happening on the federal level where indecision and constant disagreement have left the economy stuck.

Month-over-month data from the SurePayroll Scorecard for Chicago shows a slight decrease in hiring and a minimal rise in wages. The year-to-date numbers show small-business hiring in Chicago up 0.7%, but wages down 2%. I'm hopeful that the new budget measures will be the start of some real positive movement in the small-business economy.

In what could be the winter of our discontent, more than half of small-business owners seem set on plowing ahead, taking what comes and making the most of it — whether that means a hiring slump or having to figure out a way to get to work during another blizzard — sometimes telecommuting is the way to go.

In Chicago, we are united in our fight to get through the winter — both financially and physically. Our toughness sees us through. We stay patient in traffic and on trains and in waiting for the snow to stop falling so we can shovel our driveways. Then we do it again the next day.

It's this same perseverance that will get us through the economic winter we've been mired in, but we won't begin to get truly excited about better weather until we see signs of a thaw. The same can be said for the economy. Small-business owners are sitting on the fence right now, but in the next few months we will perhaps see the city's significant fiscal changes take hold and push them over to the bright side, which in turn may mean hiring and more people putting money into the economy. Let's hope for an early spring.

Michael Alter is president and CEO of SurePayroll, a small-business payroll services company based in Glenview. The company collects information on small-business hiring based on its nationwide database of SurePayroll software users; Mr. Alter comments on trendlines in the data each month here on Crain's blog for Chicago entrepreneurs.